Photo: Bobak Ha'Eri · CC BY 3.0Iron Mountain has 2.5 jobs for every working resident: 6,259 people commute in to work
For jobs and income Iron Mountain is better than 27% of U.S. towns (C); for walkability it is more walkable than 89% of U.S. towns (A). Employers in Iron Mountain report 7,563 jobs; 3,044 of its residents have a job. About two in five stay in Iron Mountain for work; outside it, Kingsford is the main destination (16%, 2 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Iron Mountain apart on work
Iron Mountain is where the jobs are
Iron Mountain has 7,563 jobs, 2.5 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 12,000 people are in town, 61% more than the 7,500 who live here. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Iron Mountain are quick
The average trip to work takes 16 minutes, against 24 across Michigan. That’s about 61 hours a year less on the road than the typical Michigan worker. Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2021, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; 2021 is the newest year Michigan has published.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Iron Mountain
Unemployment holds Iron Mountain’s grade up (4.2%, U.S. 5.2%); household income pulls it down ($59,405, U.S. $80,734).
The commuting and job counts on this page are Census LEHD 2021: Michigan reports later than other states, so its newest year is two years behind.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Iron Mountain could be anywhere from D to B−.
How many people are in Iron Mountain by day
On a workday 1,740 residents head out to work and 1,304 work right here.
About 12,000 people are in Iron Mountain on a workday afternoon, 61% more than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2021, primary jobs.
Getting to work from Iron Mountain takes about 16 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Iron Mountain workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,144 commuters (the 13% who work from home are left out). Across Michigan: 86% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
The towns that send workers to Iron Mountain
Where Iron Mountain clocks in
16% of workers
3% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Iron Mountain works in goods: 30% of its jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Iron Mountain, 2011 → 2021: 8,195 → 7,563. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2021.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Iron Mountain’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far Iron Mountain’s workers travel
About 18% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2021.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
In Iron Mountain, walking beats the bus
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 3,602 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 10.6% of Iron Mountain households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Iron Mountain’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Iron Mountain is 2,452nd among 3,125 U.S. towns of 5,200 to 10,100
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 37 | Grosse Pointe Farms MI | 9,735 | $161K | 2.5% | 1.9% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 48 | Northville MI | 6,013 | $146K | 2.8% | 2.1% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,450 | Dock Junction GA | 8,147 | $41K | 27.0% | 2.3% | 10% | C |
| 2,451 | Benton IL | 6,558 | $54K | 17.7% | 3.9% | 18% | C |
| 2,452 | Iron Mountain MI | 7,469 | $59K | 13.5% | 4.2% | 43% | C |
| 2,453 | Sullivan MO | 6,942 | $63K | 11.4% | 5.9% | 26% | C |
| 2,454 | West Samoset FL | 7,429 | $54K | 16.4% | 6.6% | 2% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 3,125 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Iron Mountain, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
Work next door: 23% of Iron Mountain’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Iron Mountain workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iron Mountain | – | C | A | 16 min | $59,405 |
| Breitung Township | 7% | B− | C | 16 min | $72,343 |
| Kingsford | 16% | C | B+ | 13 min | $61,635 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Kingsford. Darker towns draw more of Iron Mountain’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2021, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Iron Mountain: questions
What is the median household income in Iron Mountain?
$59,405 (±$5,469) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Iron Mountain?
13.5%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Iron Mountain?
16 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Iron Mountain work?
43% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Kingsford (16%, 2 mi), Breitung Township (7%, 4 mi), Norway (3%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Iron Mountain walkable?
Iron Mountain is more walkable than 89% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 9.7 out of 20, and 7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Iron Mountain without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 11% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Iron Mountain, from the people who make the trip.
More of Iron Mountain
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2021, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.